Fire up little minds with sorting games

Sorting games are great for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. They can help your child learn the similarities and differences between objects which is an important early literacy skill.

Sorting games

Sorting is an early literacy skill children need to develop before they can begin to learn to read and write. Understanding what same and different means helps children learn the differences between upper case and lower case letters and start to recognise the same letter as it appears in books or on signs — all well before formal literacy learning starts.

Choose activities that match your child’s development. For younger babies, start with fewer items to sort that are chunky and easy to grasp then add more as your child learns and grows.

Ask your child specific questions to help them identify similar and different characteristics. For example: “Show me the round container. Now the one with straight sides. Let’s look for all things that are big or let’s see how many animals we can find in this magazine." Activities like this are great opportunities for conversation, learning new words, and quality bonding time.

Common household objects and pictures are perfect.